[ops]

Consider this: if the license costs 1,000, most people who are pirating it can’t afford it. Those pirates are learning how to use your software, and when they get a job at a relevant firm, what software are they going to want their new bosses to buy? I think Photoshop grew quite a bit due to something like this (before they went with the subscription nonsense)

[tgsovlerkhgsel]

> what software are they going to want their new bosses to buy?

In many cases, none because they'll just keep pirating yours. Even if the company has a "don't pirate, we want to pay for it" policy, some employees will still do it! That's something to keep in mind. For some, piracy has become the default way to get software.

You need to make it easier to buy than to pirate. I believe taking small credit card payments for 1-seat licenses is key here. If a low-ranking employee's options are piracy vs. informally asking their manager "hey can I buy this $99 software" and entering their credit card, you're much more likely to make a sale than if the employee has to choose between piracy and dealing with their purchasing department, legal department, IT security, etc.

This only applies to companies with corporate credit cards and employees that have a lot of flexibility, of course. I don't know what other methods you need to offer to make it easy for other companies.

[ops]

Where I work, it would absurd to choose piracy over waiting a few months for approval - simply because of the risk to one’s career. Is this not the case elsewhere?

[Leherenn]

2 of the companies I have worked for were pirating software, a 100+ employees one and a <10 one. All in a rich European country. One got even caught for it.

Usually, the "main" users had a valid license, but there were cracks floating around for the people that used the software a couple times a year. We're talking a about stuff costing thousands here. This was, if not approved, certainly turned a blind eye by management.